Outsmarted!

With the near constant rain and snow we haven't done much work of any kind lately. Even on the days that the sky doesn't leak something it is dark and cold and dreary. I'm from Florida. I am a sun worshiper. Winter always puts me in a bad mood.

I decided tonight that Vivre really needed to work on something. Between the weather and the holidays I wont' even tell you how long it has been since we have worked on anything new. Or really done much besides you "Down," or "Fuss," as anything other than an excuse to play.


I decided to get Vivre's mind working I would start shaping something. As a puppy we worked on her running out and going around something which we will need for a blind search, but we only did a few sessions. Well Vivre doesn't particularly like to leave me any way (she will work at a distance if she is already there, but asking her to turn her back on me and leave is just too much) and combined with the lack of training lately that just wasn't happening.

Okay, my bad. But she was practically in my lap and I wanted some distance. So we went to something familiar and I pulled out a piece of cardboard and had her run out and stand on it. She can do this because it is such a familiar exercise. Which I guess means I need to find something thinner for her to go around.

I started with her already out there and treating her from a distance. Then started making her come in and run back out. Every time she would hit the cardboard it would slide a little further away. Cool self-increasing criteria. But Vivre apparently didn't like that. After about five minutes she picked up the cardboard and carried it to me dropping it at my feet. Then stood on it waiting for her treat. I should mention (if I haven't already) Vivre likes noise. And laughter counts. So when I started cracking up she thought that was the greatest thing in the world and picked the cardboard up and just carried it all over the room. Tickled with herself. It is a good thing I don't have a fragile ego or being outsmarted by my dog would be really hard for me.